10 Ideas to Inspire Your Creativity

Your muse goes missing. Inspiration seems elusive. Creative blocks are burgeoning. However you describe it, we’ve all experienced those slumps in creativity. And it doesn’t matter what your niche is, a lack of inspiration and ideas can be pretty frustrating when you’re trying to write a book, run a business, or enjoy a hobby.

So should you let the slump run its course or should you catch up to it and show it who’s boss? Do you have your running shoes on? Good. Let’s go.

Here are 10 ideas to get you back in the creative spirit:

Spend a day at a museum. Any museum. Other people’s brilliance and ingenuity will remind you how amazing human creativity is. It is a gift within all of us.

Go to an open mic event at a local coffee shop. Buy yourself a treat, relax and enjoy the beauty of others’ thoughts, ideas and delivery.

Take an art or how-to class. Choose one that is outside of your current niche.

Go to a play or musical. It does not matter if it’s a Broadway production or a local community college production. Just marvel at the pro.duct.ion.

Attend a cultural event. Preferably one outside of your own. You will have fun learning the intricacies of a culture.

Watch any movie by Laika Entertainment. The stop-motion animation studio never ever disappoints. Their creativity, attention to detail, resolve is astounding! (Imagine the patience it takes to partake in stop-motion animation.)

Attend a writer’s group meeting. Even if you don’t consider yourself a writer, writing and sharing ideas with observant and thoughtful people (cause that’s what we are ;-)) gets the wheels turning.

Go to a costume party. They’re not just reserved for Halloween! You can attend Cosplay, a Renaissance fair or Victorian era party, Diner en Blanc, etc. Anything that forces you to play dress up.

Upcycle/repurpose something. Make it a project to find something cheap or free from a yard sale or thrift store. Repaint and repurpose it.

Go to a bar or winery. Take your notebook of bright ideas with you. Lord knows all we need sometimes is a little liquid courage to get past our inner critic. Enjoy!

Which one of these would you choose first? Also, name something you would add to the list!

I love the idea of the art or how-to class! This past year, I’ve been reading my way through K.M. Weiland’s Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration. It helped pick me up whenever I hit a rough spot in my novel and really encouraged me when I was struggling, because I knew I was not crazy and not alone in temporary writer’s slump. It’s a fabulous book, if you ever want to check it out!

Spending time at a museum, going to an art class, or re-purposing something would definitely be my go-tos! Those are fun things to do anyway! 🙂

I also love the idea of just hanging out in a coffee shop for a day. There’s just something about being in that type of atmosphere…a bunch of other creatives huddled over their computers working…people busy bustling around you in the hubub. I love that ambiance!

Spending time at a museum, going to an art class, or re-purposing something would definitely be my go-tos! Those are fun things to do anyway! 🙂

I also love the idea of just hanging out in a coffee shop for a day. There’s just something about being in that type of atmosphere…a bunch of other creatives huddled over their computers working…people busy bustling around you in the hubub. I love that ambiance!

A lot of these are on my list, I just need to do them more often! Another thing I find helpful is dancing. I’ve always been inspired by dance, so when I take time to get up and dance it’s always relaxing and inspiring.